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194 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
undergoing restructurings, and conducting judicial auctions. Because of
their arms-length relationship with the core justice agencies (which may
not even pay them) and the imperfect coincidence of their interests with
those of their clients, their roles in sector corruption differ from those of
purely public or private actors.
Justice Sector Value Chains
Table 5.1, prepared for this research, outlines the usual sites where
corruption may appear in any justice system. Its three sections focus on
organizational aspects and criminal and civil proceedings, further divided
into subareas or stages. Although the value chain approach always features
a “production line” logic, there is still considerable variation as to
how authors present their contents (Campos and Pradhan 2007).
In contrast to other versions of the value chain in this volume, table 5.1
does not feature a further division—linking types of corruption to types
of actors (public, private, entrusted, and citizen) because, with few exceptions,
the actions listed may be perpetrated by any of them. However, the
means of their exercise usually differs: use of political pressure by political
authorities and bribes or other considerations by private citizens or
entrusted actors.
The table is based on the author’s prior research in some 25 countries
and a review of studies from other countries (for example, see TI 2007;
USAID 2002, 2009). Because of time limits, the present research did not
cover all areas; both the criminal and civil justice chains were incorporated
in full, but in the organizational section, only human resource management
was considered. Future work in Ethiopia might profitably
explore the excluded areas (for example, budgeting and procurement) as
well as institutions specifically excluded: public defense, prisons, social
courts, sharia courts, and traditional dispute resolution.
Ethiopia’s Justice Sector: An Overview
Historical Development
An understanding of a country’s governance institutions cannot ignore
their broader political context. This chapter does not review the latter,
but as a preface to the institutional overview of the present-day justice
sector, a few points merit emphasis:
• Ethiopia has a long tradition of autocratic governments, and its post-1991
democratic transition is not complete, either regarding government